Meaning & use
superficial tissue
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountablemedicaltechnical
The outer layer of cells or fibers in a body part, lying near the surface rather than deep inside.
Grammar: Can be countable (a superficial tissue, several superficial tissues) or uncountable when you talk about the material in general.
Patterns
- the superficial tissue of something
- superficial tissue damage
- remove superficial tissue
The surgeon removed only the superficial tissue and left the deeper muscle untouched.
In this image, the superficial tissue of the arm appears lighter than the muscle below it.
Mild burns harm the superficial tissue but usually spare the layers underneath.
noununcountablemedicaltechnical
Such tissue considered as a group in a particular area of the body.
Grammar: Used without a plural when you mean the whole layer as a single material.
Patterns
- damage to superficial tissue
- healing of superficial tissue
Damage to superficial tissue often heals faster than injury to deeper structures.
The scan showed swelling in the superficial tissue around the joint.
Word forms
| plural | superficial tissues |
|---|
Common combinations
- superficial tissue damage
- The fall caused only superficial tissue damage, so no stitches were needed.
- superficial tissue layer
- A thin superficial tissue layer covers the whole organ.
- remove superficial tissue
- The dentist removed superficial tissue to reach the infected area.
- superficial tissue injury
- Most superficial tissue injuries heal within a week.
- the superficial tissue of the skin
- The superficial tissue of the skin protects the nerves beneath.
Synonyms and how they differ
- surface layer
- A general, non-medical phrase for the outermost part of something; use it in everyday writing, not in a clinical report.
- outer tissue
- Similar in meaning but less precise; it does not always suggest the technical contrast with deeper layers.
Opposites
Word family
- superficial adjective
- Near the surface, or not deep or serious.
- superficially adverb
- In a way that concerns only the surface or is not thorough.
Commonly confused: superficial tissue or subcutaneous tissue?
superficial tissue vs subcutaneous tissue
Subcutaneous tissue lies just under the skin, below the superficial layer; the two are not the same depth.
Practice
A doctor says the wound affected only the superficial tissue. What does this mean?
Choose one answer.
"Superficial" means near the surface, so superficial tissue is the outer layer. "The wound reached the bone" describes a deep injury, the opposite of what the phrase means.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “superficial tissue”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.